Nike and the NBA announced a deal Wednesday where the iconic brand tied to NBA stars from Michael Jordan through LeBron will be the NBA’s official uniform and apparel supplier for at least eight years.

“This partnership with Nike represents a new paradigm in the structure of our global merchandising business,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a released statement. “As our exclusive on court apparel provider, Nike will be instrumental in our collective efforts to grow the game globally while applying the latest in technology to the design of our uniforms and on court products.”

Nike has made the Team USA jerseys for the Olympics for years; this will build off of that experience. Nike also will manufacture the jerseys for the WNBA and D-League.

“We’re excited to bring the full power of our global reach, innovation and creativity to partner with the NBA and grow the game in a way only Nike can,” Nike President & CEO Mark Parker said in his statement. “In Nike, Jordan and Converse we have three of the most connected brands in the world, and look forward to making the global growth of the game a successful strategy for both the NBA and Nike.”

This was the expected outcome after Adidas decided to get out of the business. While it was possible Under Armour could have tried to pay big for a foothold, the NBA and Nike have deep ties and business relationships in place.

But mostly this is about Nike coughing up the cash. According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, Nike will pay the NBA $125 million annually to supply the uniforms, which is more than double what Adidas was paying (and why they dropped out).

This should be good for the look of the league — Nike does things well and does them with a flair. They get marketing, but they also get design. This is a marriage that should lead to some fun looks for the NBA at future All-Star Games and beyond, starting in the 2017-18 season.

Back in 2012, Nike signed to be the official uniform supplier of the NFL.

The Warriors have struggled to find their offense against the Cavaliers to this point of the NBA Finals, and the relative disappearance of Draymond Green has been a big reason why.

During the regular season, Green was a reliable safety valve that Golden State could count on to relieve the pressure from its shooters. Green could consistently convert shots inside and out, including from three-point distance.

He’s been dreadful in this series, however, and an ongoing back issue may be to blame for his recent round of troubles.

Green is shooting just 4-of-17 from the field over the last two games, both of which were Warriors losses. He’s also 1-of-5 from three-point distance over the same span, but more importantly, he’s not even looking for the ball behind the three-point line as he has all season long, which contributed to a critical late-game turnover as Stephen Curry threw the ball to where Green was supposed to be.

With the way the Cavaliers have tenaciously defended over these first three games, the Warriors need to find additional sources of offense. It’s why you saw much less Harrison Barnes in Game 3, and why David Lee finally found his way off of the end of the bench to score 11 points in just over 13 minutes.

But Green is there for his defense first, and since the Warriors can’t afford too much slippage on that end of the floor as they look for new ways to get the offense on track, if he’s healthy enough to go in Game 4, expect Green to play something resembling his normal allotment of minutes.

Matthew Dellavedova could be the next mayor or Cleveland, right now he’d win in a landslide. LeBron James is having the kind of series that you can only compare with Magic, Michael and the other greats. Stephen Curry has largely struggled, and the front line of the Warriors has gone MIA.

In today’s edition of the PBT Podcast, we’ve got PBT’s Kurt Helin and Brett Pollakoff, plus NBCSports’ Dominic Ridgard breaking down what the Cavaliers are doing right — defense, mostly — and what the Warriors are doing wrong (almost everything it seems). We also start to look ahead to Game 4, and if things are about to change.

CLEVELAND — Minutes after the biggest game of his basketball career, Matthew Dellavedova had a health scare. These Finals have made the Australian point guard an overnight sensation, and his 20-point performance in his first home game of the Finals had him poised for the most triumphant “podium game” yet. Instead, he was being rushed to the hospital for what the Cavaliers called “severe cramping.”

“I just cramped up a little bit,” Dellavedova said at practice on Wednesday. “They thought the best form of recovery would be just go to the hospital for a little bit, get an IV.”

Dellavedova was electric in the Cavs’ Game 3 win on Tuesday. He’s become a valuable defender for the Cavs, especially on Stephen Curry. More than that, he’s become a folk hero in Cleveland. Everything he did in Game 3 was met with chants of “DELLY” that eclipsed the volume of even anything they had for LeBron James.

This cramping episode, and the imagery of his immediately needing to be hooked up to an IV after his performance, only adds to his legend.

“Delly comes from a rugby background,” James said. “If any of you guys ever have an opportunity to watch a rugby game, you see how rough it is, and that’s what it’s about. He just brings it all. Everything that he has, he lays it out on the floor. I think he dove on the ground last night, an NBA Finals record six times. Last night, and last night he was on the ground again after the game in the hospital, so you could probably say seven times. He gives us everything he has, and we all appreciate that as his brothers in the lineup beside him.”

With Kyrie Irving out for the season, Dellavedova has saved the Cavs’ title hopes. They’ve bee finding ways to get it done without their stars, but losing Dellavedova would likely be too much to overcome. (Imagine being told a year ago that that was a sentence you’d read or write.)

Fortunately, the prognosis looks good for Thursday’s Game 4.

“We’re doing a lot of things and trying to tick all the boxes in terms of hydration and nutrition and different forms of recovery,” Dellavedova said. “So it’s something the training staff are talking to me about. Right now it’s just getting as much fluids in as you can and just trying to eat a lot.

“I was [at the hospital] for a little bit, but mainly just to rest up and recover. We all take it pretty easy today just to get our treatment, and we’ve watched tape and things like that. So, yeah, I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

With 51 seconds remaining in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and with the Warriors suddenly finding life with Stephen Curry raining ridiculous shots from all over the floor, every possession would count.

LeBron James made sure one of Golden State’s was taken away, and it was all thanks to just how smart he was in the moment.

James jumped the passing lane to come away with a critical steal on an inbound pass from Stephen Curry, and was immediately fouled. He pointed to his temple and smiled on his way back up the court, telling everyone he’d seen what was about to unfold.

“I just seen them run that set before, and I was telling the coaching staff that I was in tune and I knew it was coming,” James said of the play afterward.

Whether due to extensive film study or just remembering a play the Warriors had run in this series, LeBron was ready.